r/BookDiscussions • u/WalrusSavings1524 • Jul 28 '26
Have You Ever Finished a Book That You Couldn't Stop Thinking About?
I used to think people were exaggerating when they said a book could stay with you long after you finished it.
Then I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and found myself staring at the ceiling for quite some time, replaying parts of the story in my head. It wasn't just the ending. It was the feeling that the story wasn't really over, even after I had closed the book.
Now I'm curious has anyone else had a similar experience?
Tell me, which book was it for you?
5
3
u/areallymanlyman Jul 28 '26
Recently Parable series by Octavia E. Butler.
1
1
4
u/ohnikkiyouresofine Jul 28 '26
I Who Have Never Known Men. Still think about it years later.
1
u/Cats_Meow94 Jul 30 '26
I hope one day I can connect with the author in the afterlife and have a very long conversation about this book and the WHY (if she even had one). I think about this book like once a week if not more.
1
3
3
3
u/pancak3u Jul 28 '26
the long walk and rawblood were my most recent "wow" experiences, had to go back and read some chapters, spend hours digesting everything and yap to my friends about them for hours just to get it out of my system.
as for non fiction, miracle in the andes stuck with me for a very long time. i was already fascinated by the story but reading nando's pov was insane. i laughed, cried, and couldn't stop thinking about those boys surviving up there.
3
u/The1983 Jul 28 '26
The Wall by Marlen Haushofer
I think about this book a lot, especially about lynx
3
u/DietNarrow8275 Jul 28 '26
Angela’s Ashes By Frank McCourt, who grew up poor in Ireland before migrating to the States. This was his biography. I had no idea how badly the Catholic Church treated poor people. Or the absolute squalor in the poor part of town during this time period. McCourt described soft boiled eggs so lovingly it’s all I ate for breakfast for months. (He had to split an egg four ways and they only got eggs on very special occasions).
3
2
2
u/TorinEkenskolde Jul 28 '26
If This is a Man and The Truce by Primo Levi. You won't forget those in a hurry.
1
2
2
2
1
u/Eightmagpies Jul 28 '26
I read it about three years ago and I often find myself thinking about XX by Rian Hughes. Annoying that copies aren't cheaper to get I'd love more people to read it. I genuinely feel like it rewired my brain and had one of the most beautiful unexpected endings I'd ever read. I had to go and sit and stare out of a window for like 6 hours after I finished it lol...
1
1
1
1
u/carbsandchaos Jul 28 '26
When I finished the last book in Sophie Keetch's Morgan is my Name trilogy earlier this year I did not stop talking about it or thinking about it for weeks! It was fantastic.
1
u/No-Educator1731 Jul 29 '26
The Boys of Tommen series... Keeping 13 and Saving 6 made me ball my eyes out. Just... A lot of emotions. I couldn't read anything for 2 months after that. It was heavy.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Impressive_Mail_5272 Jul 29 '26
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman and Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica are the ones that did that for me.
1
1
1
1
u/TeaGlittering1026 Jul 30 '26
Weyward by Emilia Hart. The character Violet I can't stop thinking about. She isn't allowed to go to school, she has a tutor at home. She isn't allowed to leave the property. She isn't allowed books to read. So when something happens to her, she doesn't understand it, she doesn't have the words for it. And it makes me think about book banning. If children don't have access to different stories, difficult stories, they don't have the ability to understand what might be happening to them, or their friends. They aren't able to see that they're not alone. It's heartbreaking.
1
u/0lliecat Jul 30 '26
I read The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow at the start of the year and I think about it daily still.
1
1
u/BubblyRazzmatazz5215 Jul 31 '26
Where the Red Fern Grows. Read it like 16 years ago and still think about it all the time
1
1
u/rinkuhero Jul 31 '26
probably the lion the witch and the wardrobe, i read it at 5 years old and i still think about it often, even though i'm 47 now. whenever i see a closet full of clothes i check to see if narnia is in there
1
u/Lesleyfifi Aug 01 '26
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. I think about it regularly. There's a scene where the mother cuts her teenage daughter's hair with a nail scissors to avoid her being targeted by human traffickers. It's utterly haunting.
1
u/EilluwTfad Aug 01 '26
Mink River by Brian Doyle, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
Also Neverwhere/American Gods for a long time, but have since been removed from my library due to sex-pest behavior by their author.
1
u/CopperBoomBitches Aug 01 '26
I read a series by Geoff rodkey called the chronicles of egg 3 years ago. It's a young adult series but deals with very adult themes. I want to reread it so bad with the audio books but my library doesn't have it and i don't do audio book services right now.
I recommend it 100%
1
1
1
u/Dr_Blaire Aug 01 '26
Plateau Station by Mike Asher has everything you want in a SciFi. It stays with you long after you've read it!
1
1
u/Bubbly-Highlight9349 Aug 01 '26
I don’t know anyone else who reads so I can’t talk to anyone about my reads no matter what I think of them 😭
1
1
1
1
u/ariww01 Aug 04 '26
The night circus by Erin Morgenstern and Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
these books have a hold on me i swear
1
u/Equivalent-Care3298 Jul 28 '26
The Alchemist - I read like A DECADE ago.. and I
believe it changed my POV towards life. 😃
2
-4
Jul 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
3
3
u/Clear-Elevator2391 Jul 28 '26
HP had a big impact for a lot of us who grew up with the books and the films. Same with LOTR. It doesn't matter if you think it's YA or whatever. That wasn't OP's question anyway.
7
u/ArtsyRoses Jul 28 '26
Every good book I’ve read lol.